Review: Enchantment 01/25/07. Grade: A

[SC_Sam]

We just returned from Enchantment 01/25/07-01/29/07. This was the second cruise for DW and I (both 40ish), but only our second on RCI. Our only other RCI trip was a three-night Sovereign trip last year, which was fun, but not up to the standards we are used to on Princess.

 

We took my in-laws on this four-night voyage for their 40th wedding anniversary. They had never cruised before. We were a little apprehensive about this trip, but wanted to give RCI a second chance, in large part due to what I read on this board. We were not disappointed.

 

Cabin: We sprang for Junior Suites, #s 8084 and 8066. Both were in good shape, but 8084 has one of "stripper poles" (as my wife and in-laws referred to it) located right at the foot of the bed. As these cabins were just under the pool deck area, there was a little noise late at night or early in the morning as things were being moved around above us, but other than that, they were pretty quiet.

 

Bedding was wonderful. My MIL said it was the best she'd slept in years. (Could it have anything to do with the 1/2 bottle of wine we fed her each night?:D ) Our steward was Harris, who was wonderful, keeping everything neat and tidy, and treating us to towel animals each night. Grade: A+

 

Food: We had early dining. Our waiter was Maurice, asst. waiter was Maria, head waiter was Rick. In addition, Sichan was a waiter for an adjoining section that was "underseated", so he helped out at our table, as well. They gave us the best service we had ever experienced.

 

For example, my wife is a vegetarian. She would order a combination of items off the menu (e.g., sometimes ordering an appetizer as an entree). If Maurice did not think she would like what she ordered, he would bring it anyway, but also bring what he thought she would like better. In most cases, he was right! The food was first rate, as well. I don't think any of us had a dish that was not excellent. We ate breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer. It was good, particularly for buffet-type fare. Grade: A+

 

Entertainment: We went to two of the production shows. They were very well presented. The singers and dancers were very good. We also immensely enjoyed Mike McCabe, who played and sang in the piano bar. The man can play anything and works the crowd like the pro he is. Cruise Director was Carly Boileau, who was vivacious and energetic, appearing all over the ship. Her assistants were good, as well. They did nice jobs of emceeing activities like the belly flop and best legs contests, and the Love and Marriage show. Grade: A+

 

Bar/Casino: What can I say? All personnel were friendly and efficient, and I did my part to support them as best I could!;) Grade: A+

 

Ports of Call: This trip stopped only at Key West and Cozumel. In Key West, we just explored the city on our own. We visited the Hemingway House, did a little shopping, drank a margarita at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, etc.:cool: Grade: A+

 

DW and I had been to Cozumel before and had thoroughly enjoyed it, just bumming around town, shopping, exploring, and then taking a taxi tour around the island. This time, my in-laws wanted to see the ruins, as did we. We booked the Tulum Express excursion through RCI.

 

It was neat to see, but took all day. When we disembarked, there was a 35 minute ferry ride to the mainland, then a fifteen minute walk through the city to the bus. Then a 75 minute bus ride (including the obligatory shopping/potty break at the Mayan craft cooperative store).

 

The ruins themselves were very interesting to see. We had good guides, and there were lots of iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks. There is a beautiful vista for picture-taking overlooking the beach. All told, we were at the actual ruins site for about an hour and a half. Then we had the hour long bus ride back the city, then the ferry ride back to Cozumel. The ferry did not take us back to the ship, but instead to the shopping area. Unfortunately, we only had about an hour before the ship was to sail, so we just had to grab a taxi back to the ship. It was not a bad day, but it was tiring, and did not give my in-laws a chance to see any of Cozumel. Grade: B-

 

Spa/Fitness: We worked out in the gym one afternoon. The facility is in good shape, with new equipment. We did a couples massage one morning, with Veronica and Marichelle working on us. It was one of the best massages we've ever had. Of course, there was the sales pitch for products afterwards, but they were not pushy about it. Grade: A+

 

Health & Safety: There were hand sanitizer stations at the entrance to Windjammer, with attendants who were fairly insistent about using them. Personnel were always cleaning, particularly the "dirty" spots like stair handrails, etc. When we went to the Captain's reception, he was there for pictures, but there was an attendant instructing people that the Caption would not shake hands, which makes sense. We were later talking with one of the assistant cruise directors, who said all personnel were instructed to not shake hands with passengers. Grade: A+

 

Embarkation and Disembarkation: We were on the ship in relatively short time (around 30 minutes), feasting in Windjammer by 11:45 a.m. Disembarkation went smoothly, as well. We did not have an early flight, and we were still at the airport (via taxi), checked in, through security and at the gate before 10:00 a.m. Grade: A+

 

Overall, I was very impressed with Enchantment and RCI. The in-laws (who are not sun-worshippers and accordingly enjoyed other onboard activities like the cooking demonstration, easy-listening music, etc.) had such a good time, they're ready to go again next year.

 

I would highly recommend this trip to anyone. Grade: A

[Mabers]

Thanks for the great review SCSam....glad you all enjoyed your cruise. I will be on Enchantment in 2 weeks....reading all the good things you had to say makes the anticipation all the greater.

 

M.

[SheilaSailAway]

SC_Sam---We were on the same cruise! Had a great time as well!

 

Mabers---You will have fun!!!

 

Happy Cruising!!!

[Dabu17]

This was a cruise to surprise my niece on her 40th birthday. You may have seen the surprise in the Scooner around 4:00pm. She was shocked. The cruise overall was great. We took the "Mexican Cuisine/Beach Tour" in Cozumel which I would highly recommend. We had a ball. Dressed in aprons and chef's hats, we prepared an appetizer, entre and dessert while laughiing the whole time - thanks to Luis - the head chef.....and the bartender who kept the drinks coming. After preparing the meal, we sat at a beautiful table and were served our food with white and red wine. GRADE A+

The only bad part was that my daughter lost her Sea Pass, license and $120 in the ladies room - which we did not discover until returning to the ship. We took a cab back and the Security folks got right on it. Everything was found in the ladies room - except the money. I guess just too many Margaritas!!!!Alls well that end well.

Our meal (10 of us) in the Chops Grille was fantastic, but so much food was wasted.....it just kept coming and coming.........

Cabin 7022 was wonderful and kept tidy by the cabin attendent Katline. Mario was our fabulous waiter in the dining room.

My only criticism was the price for the cruise. We paid $850 each for D1 category veranda room for only 4 nights. We never would have paid that much if it wasn't for the Surprise for my Niece.

And, by the way, I received my shipboard credit for owning 100 shares of the RCCL stock and only faxed them the information 5 days before the cruise.

We're booked CC on Celebrity 12/28 and can't wait. We'll also get a $200 shipboard credit.:)

[SC_Sam]

This was a cruise to surprise my niece on her 40th birthday. You may have seen the surprise in the Scooner around 4:00pm. She was shocked. The cruise overall was great. We took the "Mexican Cuisine/Beach Tour" in Cozumel which I would highly recommend. We had a ball. Dressed in aprons and chef's hats, we prepared an appetizer, entre and dessert while laughiing the whole time - thanks to Luis - the head chef.....and the bartender who kept the drinks coming. After preparing the meal, we sat at a beautiful table and were served our food with white and red wine. GRADE A+

The only bad part was that my daughter lost her Sea Pass, license and $120 in the ladies room - which we did not discover until returning to the ship. We took a cab back and the Security folks got right on it. Everything was found in the ladies room - except the money. I guess just too many Margaritas!!!!Alls well that end well.

Our meal (10 of us) in the Chops Grille was fantastic, but so much food was wasted.....it just kept coming and coming.........

Cabin 7022 was wonderful and kept tidy by the cabin attendent Katline. Mario was our fabulous waiter in the dining room.

My only criticism was the price for the cruise. We paid $850 each for D1 category veranda room for only 4 nights. We never would have paid that much if it wasn't for the Surprise for my Niece.

And, by the way, I received my shipboard credit for owning 100 shares of the RCCL stock and only faxed them the information 5 days before the cruise.

We're booked CC on Celebrity 12/28 and can't wait. We'll also get a $200 shipboard credit.:)

 

Dabu,

 

Glad your group had a good time, as well. Sorry about the loss of the money. Glad it wasn't a passport or something else harder to replace.

 

I agree, this was an expensive cruise, as compared to other times of the year for the same voyage. I was just looking online to see about booking for another family trip next year. The junior suites were $110 per person less than the trip we just took. Go figure...:confused:

 

I've debated about buying the 100 shares of stock for the onboard credit. Looks like stock is high right now. I may need to wait until another "incident at sea" (e.g., fire, tilt, norovirus, missing husband, etc.), sends cruiseline stock prices plummeting. (I'm certainly not wishing for anything bad to happen to anyone, but stock prices do tend to take a dive when mainstream media jumps on an incident.) Wish I'd bought last summer, when it was in the thirties, as opposed to now in the forties. Such is life, closely paralleling my experience in the casino!;)

 

BTW, correcting a typo in my original post, this was the seventh cruise for DW and me, not the second. Not matter how many times I proof, it seems those little things slip by.:eek:

[CruisinNole]

Great review SC Sam but what's the deal on the "stripper pole" in cabin 8066. DH and I are booked on the Enchantment in April in a Jr suite -- cabin 8158. He probably wouldn't mind the pole but that doesn't thrill me. Anyone know what cabin 8158 is like?

 

Dotty

[wolfcathorse]

When we went to the Captain's reception, he was there for pictures, but there was an attendant instructing people that the Caption would not shake hands, which makes sense. We were later talking with one of the assistant cruise directors, who said all personnel were instructed to not shake hands with passengers. Grade: A+

 

While I know shaking hands spreads germs, I wonder why Capt Tor wouldn't do it, as the captains wear white cotton gloves for the photo session at his reception. All he has to do is take off his gloves and wash 'em! Oh well, it don't matter, shaking hands and chit chat slows down the line for pics anyway.

[wolfcathorse]

sorry, double post

[Da Marlin]

Cabin 8584 also has a stripper pole, It was the joke of the cruise, My wife is The Birthday Girl in Dabu17's response, we had a blast, the ship was in much better shape than I anticipated. We had 5 of 10 first time cruisers on this trip with us and everyone vowed to cruise again. My In-laws won $660 Bucks Playing 25 Cent Slots, go figure. The Mexican Tasting and Cuisine Excursion In Cozumel is a cant miss trip if you Like To Drink, Eat, Laugh and Have A Good Time, Say Hello To Luis ! The Answer To The Secret Ingredient Question Is " Zuchinni Flower". Dont waste too much time chatting after your meal, there is a Beautiful Beach to swim in 25 Yds Away. Hopeton was our cabin stewart, He took very good care of us. There is a Bartender that looks like Tiger Woods at the Middle Pool Bar, his Drinks Are Worth The Money !!, Rumrunners, Strawberry Daquri's. Disembakment was a breeze we were off the ship and had our bags by 9:30 Am. A bit pricey for a 4 day, but there is only one 40th birthday.

[lojill]

Great news from everybody.I will be one her on March 31st and it seems so far away. Somebody help me past time.

[DarthCruiser]

Thanks for the review. We're doing the short 4 night Western on Enchantment in April. The OP's comments reinforce my opinion that this will be another geat cruise!. :)

[TwitterCruise1]

Was on the Enchantment for the 1/6/07 sailing..

if you have a group of 6 - 8 i recommend cabin 8012.. EXCELLENT

 

we got the upgrade last min on a whim.. only 4 of us, but with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms it was GREAT... its NOT a suite, rather a gigantic stateroom (602 sq. ft, even though the brouchures say ddifferently- must be a recent renovation) but it comes with CONCIERGE service!!

[Merion_Mom]

SC_Sam - great, well-written review! You are a credit to Cruise Critic! ;) :)

[Julielbs00]

We are on Enchanment 3/3 for a 5 night western carribean. We cannot wait!! We are a group of 4 first time cruisers in our late 20's. I hope we have a good time by ya'lls posts it sounds like a good ship.

[RevSmith]

We will be sailing on Enchantment in March...glad to hear that she has not changed...a top class ship...

 

Thanks for taking the time to write the review.

 

Rev

[astracat]

We're just missing some of you. We're stoked as this is our first time on RCL, we've done 6 on Celebrity and one on Carnival. Wonder if any of the juniors on the 7th deck have poles. Husband may have some fun, eh?

We're going with first timers our friends with kids and trying to beat out the hurricanes of summer.

[Grumpy8]

Does anyone remember the Pool Band's name? Was there a Steel Drum player in it?:cool:

 

Anyone remember the bartender in the Schooner Bar name Domje? Is he still there?

[Stoneyard]

We just returned from Enchantment 01/25/07-01/29/07. This was the second cruise for DW and I (both 40ish), but only our second on RCI. Our only other RCI trip was a three-night Sovereign trip last year, which was fun, but not up to the standards we are used to on Princess.

 

We took my in-laws on this four-night voyage for their 40th wedding anniversary. They had never cruised before. We were a little apprehensive about this trip, but wanted to give RCI a second chance, in large part due to what I read on this board. We were not disappointed.

 

Cabin: We sprang for Junior Suites, #s 8084 and 8066. Both were in good shape, but 8084 has one of "stripper poles" (as my wife and in-laws referred to it) located right at the foot of the bed. As these cabins were just under the pool deck area, there was a little noise late at night or early in the morning as things were being moved around above us, but other than that, they were pretty quiet.

 

Bedding was wonderful. My MIL said it was the best she'd slept in years. (Could it have anything to do with the 1/2 bottle of wine we fed her each night?:D ) Our steward was Harris, who was wonderful, keeping everything neat and tidy, and treating us to towel animals each night. Grade: A+

 

Food: We had early dining. Our waiter was Maurice, asst. waiter was Maria, head waiter was Rick. In addition, Sichan was a waiter for an adjoining section that was "underseated", so he helped out at our table, as well. They gave us the best service we had ever experienced.

 

For example, my wife is a vegetarian. She would order a combination of items off the menu (e.g., sometimes ordering an appetizer as an entree). If Maurice did not think she would like what she ordered, he would bring it anyway, but also bring what he thought she would like better. In most cases, he was right! The food was first rate, as well. I don't think any of us had a dish that was not excellent. We ate breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer. It was good, particularly for buffet-type fare. Grade: A+

 

Entertainment: We went to two of the production shows. They were very well presented. The singers and dancers were very good. We also immensely enjoyed Mike McCabe, who played and sang in the piano bar. The man can play anything and works the crowd like the pro he is. Cruise Director was Carly Boileau, who was vivacious and energetic, appearing all over the ship. Her assistants were good, as well. They did nice jobs of emceeing activities like the belly flop and best legs contests, and the Love and Marriage show. Grade: A+

 

Bar/Casino: What can I say? All personnel were friendly and efficient, and I did my part to support them as best I could!;) Grade: A+

 

Ports of Call: This trip stopped only at Key West and Cozumel. In Key West, we just explored the city on our own. We visited the Hemingway House, did a little shopping, drank a margarita at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, etc.:cool: Grade: A+

 

DW and I had been to Cozumel before and had thoroughly enjoyed it, just bumming around town, shopping, exploring, and then taking a taxi tour around the island. This time, my in-laws wanted to see the ruins, as did we. We booked the Tulum Express excursion through RCI.

 

It was neat to see, but took all day. When we disembarked, there was a 35 minute ferry ride to the mainland, then a fifteen minute walk through the city to the bus. Then a 75 minute bus ride (including the obligatory shopping/potty break at the Mayan craft cooperative store).

 

The ruins themselves were very interesting to see. We had good guides, and there were lots of iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks. There is a beautiful vista for picture-taking overlooking the beach. All told, we were at the actual ruins site for about an hour and a half. Then we had the hour long bus ride back the city, then the ferry ride back to Cozumel. The ferry did not take us back to the ship, but instead to the shopping area. Unfortunately, we only had about an hour before the ship was to sail, so we just had to grab a taxi back to the ship. It was not a bad day, but it was tiring, and did not give my in-laws a chance to see any of Cozumel. Grade: B-

 

Spa/Fitness: We worked out in the gym one afternoon. The facility is in good shape, with new equipment. We did a couples massage one morning, with Veronica and Marichelle working on us. It was one of the best massages we've ever had. Of course, there was the sales pitch for products afterwards, but they were not pushy about it. Grade: A+

 

Health & Safety: There were hand sanitizer stations at the entrance to Windjammer, with attendants who were fairly insistent about using them. Personnel were always cleaning, particularly the "dirty" spots like stair handrails, etc. When we went to the Captain's reception, he was there for pictures, but there was an attendant instructing people that the Caption would not shake hands, which makes sense. We were later talking with one of the assistant cruise directors, who said all personnel were instructed to not shake hands with passengers. Grade: A+

 

Embarkation and Disembarkation: We were on the ship in relatively short time (around 30 minutes), feasting in Windjammer by 11:45 a.m. Disembarkation went smoothly, as well. We did not have an early flight, and we were still at the airport (via taxi), checked in, through security and at the gate before 10:00 a.m. Grade: A+

 

Overall, I was very impressed with Enchantment and RCI. The in-laws (who are not sun-worshippers and accordingly enjoyed other onboard activities like the cooking demonstration, easy-listening music, etc.) had such a good time, they're ready to go again next year.

 

I would highly recommend this trip to anyone. Grade: A

Small world. We had almost the same cabins on our cruise to Belize 1/15/07 - 1/20/07 , 8062 & 8084. Luckly it was my Brother in Law had the "POLE". Also had Harris as our Steward. Agreed with you on the review. My fifth cruise and my favorite ship also... even better than HAL's Westerdam. Thinking about jumping aboard again between now and our Carnival Spirit to Hawaii in Sept.